RenSEN Newsletter - 21 April

RenSEN Network
RenSEN - Highlights & Spotlights
Q&A Session / Unpaid Work in the Community
Community Asset Transfer in Renfrewshire 
RenSEN – Events 2026 - Save these dates in your diary
Sport & Activity SEN: Meaningful Conversations

Support and Training
Social Enterprise Learning
Online Resources

Here’s what’s ‘up and coming’ in the world of social enterprise…

• Village Halls and Community Spaces Conference 2026 – This year’s conference is taking place in Glasgow(27.05.26), covering a great range of key note topics.  Click on link for more detail. 
• What’s new on the training calendar? Renfrewshire: Tips and tricks to using MS Teams for smarter meetings (21.05) / An introduction to business websites (27.05.26) / Choosing the right funds (18.06.26), Unlock the full potential of Outlook (26.06.26),  Renfrewshire: Tendering – The Basics (05.06.26)
• Serious about growing your social enterprise? – Feedback from RenSEN members at the March network meeting highlighted ‘growth’ as a hot topic, so check out these opportunities…Ambitions 2026 (there are two strands: Step Up for early stage and Scale Up for growth) / Scaling your social enterprise (apply for one to one consultancy support through Just Enterprise) /  Launch Me (provides business and investment readiness support and access to professional expertise.)
• Funding opportunities – Community Enterprise Fund now open! / Sports Facilities Fund / Cash for Kids Grants / Arts activities for adults / Business Development Grant (Renfrewshire Council), Social Enterprise Grant Fund (Renfrewshire Council).

Q&A Session

Spaces are still available for this Q&A session with the Community Justice Team on Thursday 23 April at 2pm (till 4pm).  The session will be held at Engage Renfrewshire, 10 Falcon Crescent, Paisley.  To book your place, contact tania.morlan@renfrewshire.gov.uk. 

Find out more about un-paid work here

The session will be held at Engage Renfrewshire, 10 Falcon Crescent, Paisley.

Community Asset Transfer

30 April at 2pm – 4:30pm / Engage Renfrewshire

Book now for this in-person workshop on Renfrewshire Council’s Community Asset Transfer process, with presentations from Renfrewshire Council and Community Ownership Support Service.  The session will be held at Engage Renfrewshire, 10 Falcon Crescent, Paisley.

To book your place, contact tania.morlan@renfrewshire.gov.uk. 

Sport & Activity SEN

Tuesday 28th April, 11am–12pm

Join us for an engaging and interactive session as part of the Sport & Activity Social Enterprise Network.
This is a chance to connect with others through meaningful conversation, share powerful stories about when sport or activity helped you feel part of something bigger and discover the common threads that bring people together.

Using Appreciative Inquiry techniques and working in small breakout groups of three, everyone will have the opportunity to contribute, listen and reflect in a structured but welcoming format that draws out the ‘bits of magic’ from each story. Together, we’ll uncover key themes and enabling factors that can strengthen connection and impact across our social enterprises

If you value thoughtful discussion, shared learning and practical insight drawn directly from lived experience, we’d love for you to sign up and be part of the conversation.

Appreciative Inquiry - https://artofhosting.org/what-is-aoh/methods/appreciative-inquiry/

You can sign up for the free online session here - https://events.humanitix.com/sport-and-activity-sen-meaningful-conversations

Social Enterprise Learning Webinars (for social enterprises at all stages)

 All courses are free unless stated otherwise

Enhancing Digital Skills
22 April – Social media essentials: Instagram (online / Business Gateway)
22 April – Social media essentials: LinkedIn (online / Business Gateway)
28 April – Introduction to Canva (online / Business Gateway)
30 April – Social media essentials: TikTok and Instagram (online / Business Gateway)
01 May – How to build a digital marketing plan (online / Business Gateway
06 May – AI for small businesses (online / Business Gateway)
07 May – Renfrewshire: Turn your ideas into websites with Wix (online / Business Gateway Renfrewshire)
18 May – Renfrewshire: Work smarter with AI (online / Business Gateway Renfrewshire)
18 May – Social media essentials: Instagram (online / Business Gateway)
Commencing 18 May – Digital Senior Leaders Programme (online / SCVO) Fees apply
21 May – Renfrewshire: Tips and tricks to using MS Teams for smarter meetings (online / Business Gateway Renfrewshire)
28 May – How to plan and schedule your online content (online / Business Gateway)
25 June – Unlock the full potential of Outlook (online / Business Gateway)




Governance and Leadership
22 April – Introduction to data protection and GDPR (online / SCVO) Fees apply
29 April – Effective minute taking (online / SCVO) Fees apply
25 June – Ask the Experts: Charity Law and Governance (online / SCVO)



Social Enterprise Essentials
24 April – How to build your brand (online / Business Gateway)
25 April – How to start a business (online / Business Gateway)
27 April – Low cost high impact marketing (online / Business Gateway)
28 April – Stand-ups: How to strengthen team collaboration and communication in 15 minutes (online / SCVO)
29 April – Renfrewshire: Taming the data beast (how to use Excel) (online / Business Gateway Renfrewshire)
30 April – Creating an effective email marketing strategy (online / Business Gateway)
06 May – Writing a successful funding application (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply
07 May – How to write funding applications (online / Business Gateway)
07 May (Evening) – How to start a business: the basics (online / Business Gateway)
12 May – How to identify and learn from mistakes (online / SCVO)
19 May – Renfrewshire: Employment Legislation: Are you ready? (online / Business Gateway Renfrewshire)
19 May – Build your brand (online / Business Gateway)
20 May – HR essentials for running a business (online / Business Gateway)
21 May – Funding Fundamentals: growing support through funding events (online / SCVO) Fees apply
23 May (Saturday) – How to start a business: the basics (online / Business Gateway)
18 June – Funding Fundamentals: Choosing the right funds and thinking like a funder (online / SCVO) Fees apply
23 June - Measuring social value (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply
08 July - Writing a successful funding application (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply
23 September - Writing a successful funding application (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply
29 September – Developing a fundraising strategy (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply
13 October - Winning grants from trusts and foundations (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply
02 December - Writing a successful funding application (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply



Business Planning
29 April – An introduction to business strategy (online / Business Gateway)
20 May – Renfrewshire: Meet your start-up advisor (in-person / Business Gateway Renfrewshire) Booking essential
02 June – Renfrewshire: Developing a Sustainability Strategy (online / Business Gateway Renfrewshire)


Monitoring and Evaluation
23 April – Creating a theory of change (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply
28 April – Measuring social impact (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply
07 May – Introduction to social impact measurement (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply
14 May – Renfrewshire: Stand out: Business storytelling that wins customers (online / Business Gateway Renfrewshire)
27 May – Plan, measure and report social impact (online / SCVO) Fees apply
09 June – Measuring social impact (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply
12 July – Introduction to social impact measurement (online / School for Social Entrepreneurs) Fees apply


Income Generation/Procurement
22 April – Renfrewshire: Understanding your cashflow (online / Business Gateway Renfrewshire)
23 April – How to generate and increase sales (online / Business Gateway)
12 May – Renfrewshire: Take control of your cash flow (online / Business Gateway)
19 May – How to generate sales (online / Business Gateway)
05 June – Renfrewshire: Tendering – The Basics (online / Business Gateway Renfrewshire)
24 June – Charity accounting: Are you ready for SORP 2026? (online / SCVO)
20 August – Introduction to fundraising (online / SCVO) Fees apply